Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Swimming and Diving has Nine Named All-Patriot League
2/27/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 27, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Nine members of the Bucknell women's swimming and diving team were named All-Patriot League, the league office announced Wednesday. The nine selections marked the most for the Bison since 2010 and the six first-team choices were the most since 2006. Bucknell placed second in the team standings at the Patriot League Championships, which were held last week at Kinney Natatorium.
Divers Tara Boyle and Katie Hetherington as well as swimmers Ashley Henderson, Emma Levendoski, Lauren Perry and Kelly Pontecorvo were first-team selections, while swimmers Stephanie Koziol, Emily Norton and Elizabeth Porcellio were second-team picks. Seven of the nine honorees are either freshmen or sophomores with Porcellio being the only senior recognized.
Bucknell, which finished second at the league meet for the third time in the last four years, was third in the league in terms of All-League selections. Back-to-back champion Navy had 11 honorees, while third-place Colgate had 10 student-athletes recognized.
Each of the All-Patriot League teams is comprised of 18 student-athletes. First-team status is automatically awarded to competitors who earn a first-place finish at the championship meet. The remaining first-team slots are filled by student-athletes with the highest remaining individual point totals from the meet. Second-team status is automatically given to all second-place finishers who do not otherwise have enough points to move up to the first team. The remaining second-team slots are then filled by competitors with the highest remaining point totals.
Boyle, Hetherington, Levendoski, Perry and Pontecorvo combined for a record-tying seven individual titles for the Bison and each ended up on the First Team due to their victories. Henderson was a first-team selection based on points as she ranked tied for 10th in the league with 45 during the three-day meet.
Boyle, Hetherington, Koziol, Perry, Pontecorvo and Porcellio had earned previous All-League citations, while Henderson, Levendoski and Norton were cited for the first time. Porcellio became Bucknell's first four-time All-PL selection since Molly Goebel from 2008 to 2011.
The first Bison to be named Patriot League Diver of the Meet, Hetherington earned her first career First Team honor thanks to her first career gold medal off the three-meter board and a third-place showing off the one-meter. Her score of 300.55 off the three-meter broke her own school record by more than 15 and helped her become the first Bison to win a three-meter title at the Patriot League Championships. Just a sophomore, Hetherington has now competed in four career PL Championships diving events and never finished lower than third.
Boyle captured the one-meter title in 2012 and successfully defended her crown last week, making her the first two-time diving champion in program history. Two days after winner the gold medal, she placed fourth off the three-meter board. Last February, Boyle became the first Bucknell diver to win an event at the Patriot League Championships.
Emma Levendoski became the first Bison to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Meet thanks to her victories in the 100 and 200 backstrokes. She also placed 16th in the 50 free after winning a swim-off to advance to the finals. The first Bucknell freshman to win two events at the league meet since Hall of Famer Jen Myers won three in 1995, Levendoski set a school record in the 200 back and posted the No. 2 time in school history in the 100 back. She was also part of three relays that set program top-10 times, including the record-breaking 400 medley relay.
The current Bison Athlete of the Week, Perry matched Levendoski with a pair of victories. The sophomore won the 100 and 200 free and placed sixth in the 50 free. The No. 2 point scorer behind Swimmer of the Meet Laura Gorinski of Navy, Perry lowered her own school record in the 200 free by more than two seconds and broke Meghan Freese's nine-year-old standard in the 100 free. Perry also posted the No. 5 time in school history in the 50 free.
Perry and Levendoski became the first pair of Bucknell teammates to win multiple individual gold medals since Lectie Altman and Rebecca Scheffter in 2005. No Bison had captured both the 100 and 200 free in the same Patriot League Championships since Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer Margaret Grunow in 1991.
Pontecorvo rounded out the list of Bison event winners as she claimed her first career Patriot League title in the 1,650 free. The junior, who finished third in the 1,650 as a freshman and second last February, completed the race in 16:30.95 to break her own school record by more than eight seconds. Her 1,000-yard split was 9:57.52, lowering her school record for that distance by more than seven seconds. Pontecorvo won the race by more than 21 seconds.
In addition to her performance in the long-distance event, Pontecorvo placed second in the 500 free in school-record time (4:50.26) and 16th in the 200 free. Her 38 points scored ranked 23rd in the league and sixth among Bison.
Representing Bucknell's freshman class, Henderson earned her place on the first team thanks to three top-five finishes. She was third in the 200 IM, fourth in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 back. Henderson recorded the No. 2 time in school history in the 200 IM and the No. 4 time in the 100 breast and 200 back. She and Levendoski are the first pair of Bison freshmen to be named All-Patriot League in the same season.
Porcellio headlined the second-team selections as she made her fourth consecutive appearance on the squad. The senior placed fourth in the 400 IM, fifth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 200 breast. She finished her Patriot League career having scored in 12 races spanning four events.
Koziol made her second straight second-team appearance as she tied Levendsoki and Porcellio for 17th in the league in points (41). The sophomore's best finish was a second-place showing in the 400 IM after winning the prelim. She also placed fourth in the 500 free and ninth in the 200 fly. Koziol now has two career silver medals in the 400 IM and her name is all over the Bison record book as she now ranks first in the 400 IM, second in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 free thanks to a relay split.
Norton, a sophomore who posted top-seven finishes in both breaststroke events last year, rounded out the list of Bison honored thanks to a pair of third-place showings in the breaststroke events this year. She improved her 100 breast finish by four spots and her 200 breast by two spots. Norton also swam the 50 free. Her time in the 200 breast (2:16.87) ranks No. 2 in program history, while her 100 breast time (1:04.27) is third.
Perry (200 free, 400 medley, 800 free, 400 free), Levendoski (200 free, 400 medley, 200 medley), Pontecorvo (800 free), Henderson (200 medley), Koziol (800 free) and Porcellio (800 free, 400 free) also contributed greatly to Bucknell's team score via their performances in relays.
The 2012-13 Bucknell season will continue this coming weekend at Harvard, which is hosting the ECAC Championships. The three-day event begins Friday, March 1, and runs through Sunday, March 3.
Bucknell's All-Patriot League Selections (previous All-League selections)
First Team
Tara Boyle (2012 -1st)
Ashley Henderson
Katie Hetherington (2012 - 2nd)
Emma Levendoski
Lauren Perry (2012 - 1st)
Kelly Pontecorvo (2011 - 2nd; 2012 - 2nd)
Second Team
Stephanie Koziol (2012 - 2nd)
Emily Norton
Elizabeth Porcellio (2010 - 2nd; 2011 - 2nd; 2012 - 2nd)
